‘Woodside Road needs lower speed limit’

Woodside Road residents Martin Leitch, Harold Quigg and Declan Quinn, who are highlighting safety concerns, with no lighting, footpaths or speed signs on the stretch of road from Gobnascale to Newbuildings. DER3214MC095

Published:16:00Saturday 09 August 2014

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Residents living on one of the busiest stretches of road in the Waterside have warned that someone will die in an accident unless a lower speed limit is introduced immediately.

A number of those living in the area have now expressed their frustration over the lack of action being taken to make the road safer for motorists and pedestrians.

Local man Declan Quinn told the Journal: “This is classed as a rural road but the reality is it links the built up areas of Newbuildings and Gobnascale. There’s no footpath, no bus stop, no street lights a speed limit of 60 miles per hour and a three tonne weight limit which is ignored by many of the bigger vehicles which use the road.

“The volume of traffic on the road is very heavy and the 60mph limit is much too high given how many people use the road. We want to see it treated as an urban route - which is essentially what it is.”

Resident Matt Doherty agreed and said he had witnessed a number of non fatal accidents on the road over the years. “For those of us who live on the road, pulling out of the driveway is an absolute nightmare,” Mr.Doherty told the Journal. “I’ve witnessed countless accidents and had a dog killed. The speeds which people get up to are ridiculous and anyone who came out and looked at the traffic on this road any day of the week would agree that it should not be a 60 mph zone. I’ve seen people do 70 and 80 miles on it and it seems to me only a matter of time before there’s a fatality here.”

Resident Martin Leitch agreed. “I had a bad accident just going in my own gate and I’ve also had a dog killed here. There’s no way the speed limit should be above 40 when you take into account that this is considered one of the main ways into the city from Tyrone and Donegal. I think unless something changes here someone will be killed.”

A spokesperson for DRD insisted the road was a rural route. A statement issued by DRD this week in response to residents’ concerns said: “Over a length of approximately 3.1km there are 18 dwellings fronting onto the road. “The majority of the road is fronted with farmland .

“The concentration of dwellings along the Woodside Road does not demonstrate the need to introduce a reduced speed limit. The width and alignment of the road can adequately cope with two way daily traffic flows,” the spokesperson added.